Operation Luettich

Operation Luettich, also known as the Counterattack at Mortain, was a counterattack launched by the German Wehrmacht against the Allied Powers in Normandy, northern France from 7 to 13 August 1944, sending three panzer divisions, two infantry divisions, and five battle groups (kampfgruppen) to launch an assault on five infantry divisions and three armored combat commands at Mortain. The Germans sought to recapture Avranches, but Army Group B commander Gunther von Kluge was known to have personally believed that the attack would change little about the situation in Normandy. The XLVII Panzer Corps suffered severe losses from Allied aircraft bombs, with half of the German tanks being destroyed. The failed counterattack allowed for the Germans to be outflanked, encircled, and trapped in the Falaise Gap.